PLANS have been unveiled for a brand new swimming pool for Chadderton - to replace the current facilities which were closed in August for safety reasons.

Structural surveys found the roof of the existing 70-year-old building was unsafe and the pool losing a lot of water through leakage. A council survey estimated it would cost £600,000 to repair, though opponents of the closure have disputed that figure.

Cllr Philip Harrison, cabinet member for adult and community services, and council officers have looked at other pools across the country to try and decide what is best for Chadderton.

A seven-lane pool similar to one in Wakefield is the preferred option of Cllr Harrison at this stage, although another pool in Wolverhampton has yet to be visited and assessed.

Cllr Harrison said: "Once Chadderton pool had to be closed for safety reasons we began working quietly behind the scenes to secure the best possible facility for Chadderton and the best possible price. The options we have looked at range in price from £1.5 million to £5 million.

"The pool we saw at Wakefield is one which I would like to see in Chadderton and would be closer to the £1.5 million mark. This would be cheaper than having to continually spend money patching up the current baths at Chadderton. We have to be looking at high-quality facilities for future generations."

Cllr Harrison said the council is looking at three possible sites for the proposed new pool and speaking to several companies who want to build the facility. Two of the sites are on the Middleton Road corridor and a third possibility at the new Radclyffe School, which is still under construction.

It is hoped proposals will be put before the council's cabinet in March and that work on a new pool could begin before the end of this year.

It is not certain at this stage what will happen to the current building, a structure which has been described as one of the best examples of Art Deco architecture in the region. This building also houses a gym which has remained open during the pool's closure.

Secretary of Chadderton Swimming Club Val Greaves said: "We don't know what the proposals are exactly because the council haven't spoken to us. They say it will be next year when a new pool is built but my fear is that it will take a lot longer than that and we will still be left without a pool."

In the meantime members of Chadderton Swimming Club continue to use pools in other parts of the borough.

The long-term future of the Royton and Crompton pools are still in doubt. Cllr Harrison said: "We need to have a new pool for Chadderton before we start thinking about other pools in the borough which are still in use."